Australian Industrial Relations in 1992: Another Turning Point?

Abstract

During 1992 each of the major parties in the Australian industrial relations system affirmed their support for a move towards enterprise-based agreements. In both New South Wales and Victoria non-Labor governments began the implementation of alternatives to the established approach to industrial relations, with considerable controversy developing over the more radical Victorian approach. At the national political level, the main differences over industrial relations reform also became clearer. The federal opposition announced its policy on industrial relations which, among other things, foreshadowed a wholesale change in the role of unions in negotiating agreements. The federal government amended the Industrial Relations Act to reduce the discretionary power of the Industrial Relations Commission in approving Certified Agreements. However, its amendments also affirmed a role for the trade union movement in negotiating such agreements. This legislative change and statements by the ACTU suggested that the Accord partners had moved strongly to hasten the spread of enterprise-based negotiation in industrial relations, leaving the Industrial Relations Commission to provide minimal standards.